[Big Dogs Little Pigs]

got this piece from liveaquaria.com. it never did resemble the beautiful coral in the picture on their website.

29g biocube HQI. i acclimated it slowly over a period of several weeks to the MH lights. it is on the sand bed, medium flow. water params are all good. i don't add any supplements, i do regular water changes (usually about 15% every week to 10 days) so i figured any trace elements are being replenished.

it's growing, has almost completely covered the rock but rather than the pretty purple color, it's very pale and rather than distinct polyps, it just looks "fuzzy". what am i doing wrong and how do i fix it?

 

[RSully]

Wow, very strange. Hope you're able to get it figured out.

 

[Big Dogs Little Pigs]

well, heard back from liveaquaria customer service. their email says...

"Thank you for your inquiry to Live Aquaria. When placing the Lavender Mushroom into an aquarium it is important not to place it where it will have too much light or it can get bleached in color. This specimen needs only low to moderate lighting. Moderate lighting levels duplicate the mid depths of the reef in nature, and represent the lighting requirements of a large number of the corals and invertebrates offered. Species that fall into this category are very flexible in regards to the lighting conditions. For example, they can be placed at the top of an aquarium with low-moderate lighting, or at the middle to bottom of aquariums with high lighting. Provide a lighting intensity of 2-4 watts per gallon using Compact Fluorescent Lighting, VHO or T-5 Fluorescents. Illuminate the aquarium using a 50/50 mix of daylight and actinic lighting. For larger aquariums, consider using Metal Halides to cut down on bulb replacement costs."

not a whole lot of help, if you ask me! my 14g cube has compact fluorescent lighting...i'm wondering if i should move this piece to that tank?

 

[GwenInNM]

well, heard back from liveaquaria customer service. their email says...

"Thank you for your inquiry to Live Aquaria. When placing the Lavender Mushroom into an aquarium it is important not to place it where it will have too much light or it can get bleached in color. This specimen needs only low to moderate lighting. Moderate lighting levels duplicate the mid depths of the reef in nature, and represent the lighting requirements of a large number of the corals and invertebrates offered. Species that fall into this category are very flexible in regards to the lighting conditions. For example, they can be placed at the top of an aquarium with low-moderate lighting, or at the middle to bottom of aquariums with high lighting. Provide a lighting intensity of 2-4 watts per gallon using Compact Fluorescent Lighting, VHO or T-5 Fluorescents. Illuminate the aquarium using a 50/50 mix of daylight and actinic lighting. For larger aquariums, consider using Metal Halides to cut down on bulb replacement costs."

not a whole lot of help, if you ask me! my 14g cube has compact fluorescent lighting...i'm wondering if i should move this piece to that tank?

\

Does the color remain the same when the lights are off? I have blue mushrooms in my tank with LED's and they first started out not very blue. When my LED's are off they are very blue, but I've noticed they are adjusting to my light, as they are getting more blue (with lights on) over time. I've had them about 2 months, and they are slowly adjusting and getting more of their true color. Try some in your other tank, and see how that goes. You could also try putting them in a place in your tank, where they will get little/no light. Can you build a rock structure to create an overhang/cave, and put them under/in that?

I've also had my mushrooms detach and find their own place, so perhaps that will happen.

Gwen

 

[Big Dogs Little Pigs]

i did water changes so i went ahead and moved it over to the 14g.

whether the lights were on or off, it stayed the same. with the lights off, i could maybe see the tiniest hint of purple but nothing even close to what i was expecting. i'll see how it does with less light. it would have been next to impossible to rearrange the rocks in the 29g to make any sort of overhang.

thanks, gwen!